


This is not a Dream

by PrincessPorcelain



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Eichen | Echo House, Mental Health Issues, Mind Manipulation, One Shot, Other, Season 2 AU, kind of pydia, lydia centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-28 08:03:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5084257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessPorcelain/pseuds/PrincessPorcelain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Season 2 AU where after Lydia dissapears and starts acting strangly after being found is admitted to Eichen House. She desperatly tries to convinve the doctors that she's not crazy but after hearing the screams of and seeing visions of a burning man she fears she'll be stuck there forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This is not a Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Some of this might be a bit triggery for all Eichen House stuff because that place is rediculously unrealistic. I don't really know the mental health system in the US as I'm from the UK but I'm pretty sure pysch hospitals aren't like that and the portrayl probably doesn't do much good for young people suffering from mental illness. So I'd just like to say that if you're struggling please do get help, mental illness is to hard to fight alone and all people want to do is help so don't be scared of the media's rediculous portrayl of the system as I'm pretty sure it's completly inaccurate.
> 
> Oh and also this contains some swearing.

Lydia was already awake as the door was unlocked that morning. She hadn’t slept at all last night; it wasn’t possible with the screams of the burning man echoing around her head. Not that she’d admit that, she was trying to persuade the doctors that she wasn’t crazy, not convince them that she was.

An orderly walked into the bedroom “Good morning Lydia, how are you feeling today?”

Usually Lydia would’ve shot back a snarky remark but all she cared about at that point was getting out of the damned room she’d been trapped in all night staring at the same four walls. Not having the energy to respond Lydia just grunted and left the room.

 

* * *

 

 As usual Lydia sat and ate the cold porridge they served for breakfast alone; she didn’t want to make friends seeing as she shouldn’t even be in the facility so she’d not bothered to waste her energy being friendly towards the other patients. Then she swallowed the same little three pills as usual, still not knowing what they were but barely caring anymore. After an orderly had checked that she had ingested the pills she was sent off for her morning therapy session.

Lydia couldn’t stand Morrell, her psychologist. She came off as all ‘nicey nice’ but Lydia couldn’t trust her. As a result she refused to open up to the therapist, knowing Morrell wouldn’t believe what had happened and would label her as crazy like all the others.

So, like every other time, Lydia sat there, not engaging with the woman’s idea of therapy. However the burning man’s screaming was getting to her, making it harder than usual to remain nonchalant. Lydia could’ve sworn it had got louder and towards the end of the session she could barely make out what Morrell was saying. By the end of the session Morrell looks frustrated and she sighs as she lets Lydia out. Lydia barely notices, wondering how its possible the man being burnt alive is still screaming there’s no way he should still be alive. An uncomfortable thought passes through Lydia’s mind; maybe he’s not.

 

* * *

 

 She’s walking down the corridor to the day room when the screaming abruptly stops. Lydia froze, her heart thumping furiously. She can feel someone’s eyes upon her and slowly turns around. There’s a man standing there with severe red, raw burns, blood trickling down his arms. Lydia immediately realised that it was the burning man and some part of her is relieved. He is real, she’s not crazy, surely they’d let her go now. But the man slowly starts walking towards her, his footsteps echoing around the large building, getting closer and closer.

A few strides away from her his face changes. Whilst it’s still raw and bloody his face contorts and his mouth opens revealing large fangs. His eyes glow blood red and Lydia starts to back away. The man licks his bloody lips and smirks before suddenly lunging at her.

Lydia screamed as he comes at her and tackles her to the ground and tries with all the power she can muster to fight him off. But the man is stronger and holds her down with ease, growling ferociously. Lydia lets out one final, desperate scream as she feels what must be the fangs prick into her arm and everything goes black.

 

* * *

 

 Slowly Lydia regained consciousness. Her vision was blurred and her head was throbbing. She tried to lift an arm to hold her head but she couldn’t lift them. She raised her head and realised she was strapped down to the bed. Lydia groaned as her head dropped back down.

The door opened and she panicked as she couldn’t see who, or what, had entered. What if it was the man, come back to finish her off? Lydia’s breathing quickened and she pulled against the restraints using the power from the adrenaline rushing through her body.

“Hey, Lydia calm down” A voice that Lydia recognised to be Morrell’s spoke and came into her view.

“What happened?” Lydia asked, weaker than intended

“You started screaming, when an orderly came over you attacked him, they were forced to sedate you”

“What?” Lydia frowned “No that’s not what happened… the burnt man, he attacked me, his eyes glowed red, and…”

“I’m sorry Lydia but that’s not what happened” Morrell spoke softly “That’s all in your head, there’s no burnt man and no one attacked you”

“What is this, some kind of sick joke to try and get me to open up to you?” The girl replied angrily

Morrell just looked at her pityingly “It wasn’t real, you know why you’re here Lydia; you’re not well”

“I know what happened!”

The doctor sighed “I’ll leave you to get some rest and think things over okay” She turned and walked towards the door

“Don’t leave me here!” Lydia shouted desperately but Morrell didn’t respond, just continued walking “Don’t! Please just let me go!” She tugged against the restraints. Hearing the door open the desperately screamed “Let me out!” but the heavy door slammed shut and the lock clicked, sealing the door.

 

* * *

 

 The next morning some guy came and sat opposite Lydia whilst she was forcing down her porridge. She glared at him, hoping he’d take the hint and leave but he just smiled sarcastically in response. “Good morning to you too Lydia”

Lydia put down her spoon and quickly scanned the boy. She’d never seen him before. “You don’t know me” She responded defensively, eyebrows raised “How do you know my name?”

The boy smirked “I’m pretty sure everyone in this place knows your name after yesterday’s little performance. I’ve seen some pretty crazy shit here but you came close to topping it all darling”

Lydia stared at him shocked for a second before standing up and picking up her tray “Asshole” she muttered turning to leave

“Wait!” The boy said “I didn’t mean to upset you; I actually want to help you”

“You want to help me by calling me crazy?” She scowled

“No, no, no… you’re not crazy, you’re just like me Lydia” The boy explained slowly “We’re completely sane but we’re different from other people. They’re never going to let people like us leave Lydia, they’ll just drug us up until we’re zombies and strap us down when they feel they can’t control us”

“What the fuck are you talking about? I don’t even know you; we’re not the same”

“I’m talking about escaping this shit-hole for good. My name is Peter, and believe me; we have more in common than you think”

 

Peter was right about something; he was different to everyone else in Eichen, Lydia couldn’t keep her mind off him and his suggestion all day. The more she thought about it the more it made sense, she wasn’t crazy but there’s no way the staff would be letting her out anytime soon. And Lydia wasn’t sure how much longer she’d cope in this place.

 

* * *

 

 “So Lydia, how about we talk about yesterday?” Morrell said at the beginning of the session “Why don’t you tell me about the man you saw?”

Lydia just glared in response leading Morrell to sigh loudly “We can’t help you if you don’t talk to us Lydia”

“You can’t help me anyway, because there’s nothing wrong with me!”

“They why are you here?”

Lydia scowled “Look I don’t understand what’s happening but it’s something to do with the secrets my friends have been keeping, and the night I was attacked, and… I don’t know what’s going on okay but I do know that it’s not all in my head!”

“That’s all a delusion; Lydia you are seeing things, hearing things, going into dissociative states, showing signs of paranoia- you are not well and we can’t help you unless you accept that”

“Fuck this” Lydia spat and marched out of the room. Frustration flooded through her as she walked down the corridors, not knowing and not caring where she was going. She was sick of being disbelieved, sick of being called sick. Something was happening she just didn’t know what.

Lydia abruptly stopped and slid down to sit against a wall with her head in her hands. As she closed her eyes images from the night of the school dance came rushing back.

_She was on the lacrosse field looking for Jackson, the floodlights began turning on around her, Stiles was screaming her name… the man… he came towards her, he didn’t look human, he almost looked like a…_

_He looked like a cross between man and wolf. And then he bit her._

Lydia gasped looking up as her memories returned. The man who attacked her was the burnt man she’d seen; only he didn’t have the burns. She wasn’t crazy, she was just remembering. The man who attacked her was a werewolf!

She jolted up and raced outside, needing the air.

“Hey are you okay?” A voice said making Lydia jump

She turned to see Peter “Just leave me alone” She replied breathlessly “Everyone just needs to leave me alone!” Lydia stepped back and rushed off away from him, away from everyone. She curled up in a quiet part of the gardens and finally broke down and sobbed uncontrollably.

 

* * *

 

 Lydia skipped the rest of the sessions and groups she had that day, she just needed to be alone. She reluctantly went to dinner, not feeling like eating, and sat alone picking at her food. She was about to leave and try and shower when the bathroom was quiet when suddenly the noise around her stopped.

She looked around the dining hall to realise that everyone was gone; the room was silent. Lydia frowned in confusion when loud, echoing footsteps broke through the silence. She felt like the air had been sucked out of her lungs as Lydia turned to see the man walking towards her. This time he was shifting between burnt and unhurt and Lydia squeezed her eyes shut tight, willing him to vanish. However a low growling forced her to open her eyes.

As Lydia looked up she saw the man had been replaced with a large, black wolf. She gasped and shot up looking around for some way out but all the doors were closed. She grabbed her plate and smashed it against the table, picking up a sharp shard and pointing it at the advancing wolf defensively.

The wolf’s eyes glowed red and he pounced at her. Lydia screamed as he landed upon her and slashed the shard of china around manically trying to get him off her. He howled as she caught his skin, tearing it open and then growled angrily. He opened his mouth showing his large fangs and plunged towards her face and then everything went dark.

 

* * *

 

 Lydia awoke to the familiar sensation of being strapped down. She internally groaned and slowly opened her eyes and blinked hard as the lights above her shone painfully brightly. Eventually her vision became accustomed to the light and that’s when Lydia noticed she wasn’t in her room. The room she was in was completely white and apart from the bed, a chair, a toilet and a sink it was bare.

Light footsteps jolted Lydia from her thoughts and she saw Morrell walk in and sit beside her on the chair. “Hey Lydia” She said almost pitifully

“Where am I?” Lydia asked woozily

“You’re in the closed ward. Do you remember what happened?”

“I was having dinner and everything went quiet… then the man who attacked me was there and… and then a wolf…”

“A wolf?” Morrell pushed

Lydia’s heart sank as she realised what she’d said. “No… I mean… I was just confused”

Morrell sighed “Lydia I want to help you but I can’t unless you tell me everything”

“There’s nothing to tell!”

“Lydia, what happened this evening caused you to hurt someone. One of the orderlies had to get stitches and the staff aren’t happy. I can help you; I will believe you I just need you to talk to me”

“I hurt someone?” Lydia said quietly, tears forming in her eyes

“Yes. I’m sorry” Morrell said softly

“Can you please leave now? I’m tired” Lydia responded slowly, tears beginning to drip down her face.

Morrell sighed and left the room, locking the door behind her. She quickly walked to her office and picked up the phone.

“Alan? It’s Marin. I think we might be getting somewhere with Lydia, she saw a vision of a wolf today but shut down after admitting it. She’s also spoken about a burning man; I think she’s talking about Peter Hale”

“Do you think she’ll be able to help us?”

“I think what’s happening to her is key to understanding what’s going on. I’m sure you can feel the unbalance too? Something unnatural is happening and I fear it’s to do with Peter and that he’s somehow using Lydia to do something for him”

“Should I tell the others? They’re getting increasingly impatient with not being able to see her”

“No. If they find out the reason she’s in Eichen House is to do with the supernatural they’ll be breaking her out in no time. We need her in here, I need to be able to observe her otherwise we’ll never be able to stop what’s coming”

“Well you need to hurry, it’s getting difficult to stop the others from getting suspicious, especially Stiles; he never seemed convinced from what we told them. Allison’s desperate to see her best friend and Scott is becoming increasingly worried. Plus whatever’s coming is coming quickly, if we don’t prevent it then we’ve had this girl institutionalised for no good whatsoever”

“I know Alan. I’ve got to go, I’ll update you soon” Marin stated and hung up. She felt bad about what was happening to Lydia due to her but it had to be done; she had to maintain the balance.

 

* * *

 

For a long week Lydia was kept in the closed ward, being pumped full of drugs and questioned by Morrell. It didn’t help that it’d been Brunski she’d hurt, she was pretty sure he’d convinced the doctors to add a few days onto her stay in isolation out of spite. Finally she was allowed back onto the main ward but only because she was so dosed up she could barely move.

Lydia didn’t have the energy to do anything, she just spent her time slumped on a couch, half watching reality TV shows. Eventually she got fed up of feeling like a zombie and stored the pills in her pillowcase, continuing the walking dead act so she didn’t arouse suspicion.

However not everyone believed her act as a few days after she stopped taking the medication Peter flopped down next to her on the couch.

“You’ve been storing you meds haven’t you?” He smirked

Lydia shot him a glare “How do you know”

“You don’t have that glossed over look in your eyes anymore”

“Well that’s creepily observant of you” Lydia replied coolly

Peter smiled sarcastically “So, think about my offer anymore whilst you were caged up in the closed ward?”

“I wasn’t caged up” Lydia snarled “But, as much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. They’re not going to let me out of here”

“Fancy giving the great escape a try then?”

“I guess I don’t have anything better to do”

“Good” Peter smirked “Let’s get out of this shit hole then”

 

* * *

 

 The pair waited for someone to kick off and distract the majority of the orderlies and they slipped out into the gardens.

“The orderlies probably have no idea as the security here’s shit but there’s a gap in the fence right by the woods. We can easily fit through there and we’re out. And I know the perfect place for us to hide” Peter explained

Both teenagers crawled through the gap and ran into the woods unnoticed. By the time Peter had led Lydia to the ‘safe place’ it was dark. Lydia frowned as she saw the half destroyed house in front of them.

“What the hell is this place?” Lydia asked

“An old abandoned building. No one will look for us here”

“Obviously but what do you plan to do now? We can’t spend the rest of our lives hiding in this wreck”

“Don’t worry; I have someone coming to help us. He’ll be here soon” Peter said in a way that made Lydia feel uncomfortable but she didn’t have any other options so she nodded and went into the building with Peter.

 

* * *

 

 After waiting around for a couple of hours Lydia heard the door open. “It’s time” Peter muttered and as Lydia turned to look at him he shifted to the burnt man she’d seen in Eichen House. She gasped, backing away but the man cornered her “You are going to do everything I tell you to Lydia. Because if you don’t…” He paused and showed her his teeth and claws, his eyes glowing red.

 

Following the man’s instructions Lydia threw some weird powder at the man who’d entered the house which rapidly knocked him unconscious. She was then to tear up the floorboards and find the body underneath. The body should have claws which she was to inject into the other man’s arm.

Lydia nearly backed out several times but each time the man was there threatening her, her friends and her family. He would show her visions of the school massacred, of the town in flames, of every horror she could imagine and she soon got back to his work.

When everything was set up the moon shone through into the building. Lydia gasped as the hand of the body tensed, plunging the claws into the other man. Blood dripped from his arm and he shot awake, metallic blue eyes shining.

Lydia stepped back in horror as the body started to move and burst through the remaining floorboards. The man who’d haunted her looked down at her as she stared at him fearfully.

“You’re real” Lydia gasped

“I’m afraid so” Peter Hale smirked “And I’m so sorry Lydia but things are about to get much, much worse”

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from Gasoline by Halsey because she's queen and I had no clue what to call this.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this, my inability to complete a multi-chapter fic led to this one shot which is kind of a mess but took forever to write so I hope people like it. Oh and if anyone doesn't realise the man at the end is Derek (I didn't name him but I'm pretty sure it's self-explainitory anyway). 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
